Monday, December 14, 2009

Milestones and Miscellany

First of all, today is a milestone of another kind: It marks 7 years that Eddie and I have been legally bound to like each other. Happy Anniversary, babe, I love you. :D

Our anniversary presents for ourselves? iPhones. Yes, we are now the cool kids. We have iPhones. What was the first thing I did with my iPhone? Downloaded the music video for Kings and Queens. What the hell else was I supposed to do with it? Call someone? Psh.

We spent our anniversary at Sam's By The Sea, where I consumed the single best steak ever slaughtered, cut, cooked, and served on God's green Earth. Sorry you couldn't have been there to have a bite, but rest assured, it was that awesome. We also bought tropical drinks that came with the coolest ceramic shark-shaped cups. Seriously. They were badass. We intend to go back repeatedly until we have an entire set. So, if you dine at our place, expect to be drinking out of a ceramic shark.

In other news, here is a rave review about Rules of Engagement from Literary Nymphs Reviews Only. This book has gotten mixed reactions from people, and that's understandable, particularly the last 1/4 or so. The last few chapters are not going to be everyone's cup of tea. Some love it, some hate it, and that's okay. Thank you to everyone who has written to me about the book, whether your reaction was positive or negative.

Undone is coming along very nicely. This is definitely not like my previous books. I'm experimenting with some POV (point of view) techniques, for one thing, and the story...well, it ain't a romance. I suppose it could be described as erotic to a degree, but the erotic stuff isn't centerstage the way it usually is. And it's a fun experience, too; the characters are speaking to me and the story is practically writing itself. Whenever I get hung up on something, another scene invariably answers a question or fills in a blank and gets me over the speedbump. It's one "yes!" moment after another. It's a rush every time I open the damned outline or work on a chapter, and it's never been quite like this with any book before. It could end up being really cool, or it could be a colossal failure, but so far, I'm excited about where it's going.

I know, all of this sounds incredibly wanky, but there it is. Every once in a while, a book comes along, and it just clicks. I connect with the characters like they're standing right beside me. The act of writing becomes less word dentistry and more like I'm taking dictation from someone. It flows. It works. It becomes fucking real. As ridiculous and silly as it sounds, it's that feeling of, "I was born to write this book." Does that mean it's going to be some literary masterpiece? Probably not. It could be a total disaster for all I know. All I know is that I intend to ride this high as far as it'll take me, and hopefully I'll have a decent book when I get to the end of it.

So yes, I'm excited about this book. Can you tell?

Also, I'm less than 15,000 words away from my goal of one million words. Expect a celebratory post here in the next 3-4 days. There will likely be cake and mancandy.

Anyway, there's the news of life in Japanistan: 7 years of marriage, 2 iPhones, a 30STM music video, a book review, closing in on a million, and another book that might just drive me out of my mind.